Discussion

What would you drink with a spicy goulash?

The typical dish -- beef, paprika, etc. -- over egg noodles. A light-bodied red comes to mind, but I'm wondering whether some good choices could be a little counterintuitive, maybe a regionally appropriate white.

Your first thoughts are good ones. Reach for a lighter-styled Zinfandel (Do they make them any more? Martini used to.) or a Zweiglet, Blaufrankish or St-Laurent from Austria. There are bound to be other eastern European reds that would do the trick, though I'm woefully ignorant of them.

That's just the stuff we mainly get in the US - they actually do produce some dry wines & they can be found in the States if you look:

From Wikipedia:

Dry Wines: These wines, once referred to as ordinárium, are now named after their respective grape varieties: Tokaji Furmint, Tokaji Hárslevelu and Tokaji Sárgamuskotály.

Szamorodni: (Slovak: samorodné) This type of wine was initially known as főbor ("prime wine"), but since the 19th century the Polish word szamorodni ("the way it was grown") has been used. What sets Szamorodni apart from ordinary wine is that it is made from bunches which contain a considerable proportion of botrytised grapes. Because of this, szamorodni is typically higher in alcohol and extract than ordinary wine. Szamorodni often contains up to 100-120 g of residual sugar and thus is termed édes ("sweet"). However, when the bunches contain fewer botrytised grapes, the residual sugar content is much lower, resulting in a száraz ("dry") wine. Its alcohol content is typically 14%.

Er....seeing as I speak/read/am Hungarian -- let me once more make the point:

None of the Tokaji wines would be a good accompaniment to goulash/gulyás. They are all lovely wines with varying degrees of residual sugar --- all tasty --- just not with savoury, heavy foods such as a goulash soup (or stew in non-Hungarian setting).

Speaking of eastern European reds, you might check out Bulls Blood wine from Hungary in addition to the Tokaji mentioned by torta...I found it at local ABC liquors here in Florida recently for under $10 and I really loved it...I think the label said Egervin on it if that's of any help. Cheers!

Bulls Blood is OK for the price but a bit boring. Most of the tokaji you find in the US is dessert wine, and even the rare dry version (furmint) wouldn't be right for goulash.

The good reds are made from kékoportó (Portugieser), kékfrankos / nagyburgundi (blaufrankisch), and/or zweigelt. All are relatively light. If you can't find them, substitute a similar Austrian red. The Claus zweigelt's a relatively good value (around $16 in California).

Since you're in DC, you might call the Hugarian embassy and ask them if they can tell you where to find good Hungarian wines.